How I Worked My Way Out of a Job...

In February 2015, I thought my life would change forever, and it did. I had hoped for an opportunity to “make me happy.” Not just me, but it would do so much for my family back in Jamaica. I had a lot going on in my life. My mother had gotten ill two years earlier after I braved it to come to the United States of America to study. I was in a country all by myself with one mission: to complete my masters’ degree in Environmental Sustainability Health and Safety Management at Rochester Institute of Technology. You will hear more about that other life experience in my book.

However, I want to take some time to share with you How I Worked My Way Out of a Job. It might sound crazy, but I did. I may not be able to go through every detail here with you, but I will do my best to provide you how it all happened and why you should choose to do the same. When I first read the book entitled “So Good, They Can’t Ignore You,” by Cal Newport, it immediately resonated with me. I know that I wanted something more meaningful for work. Don’t you want something more meaningful for work? I did not fully embrace Cal’s philosophy in the beginning about why "skills trump passion in the quest for work you love" because I had a different idea. I do believe your passion for the work you do is a significant driving force for the work you do. However, when he introduced the principle of the “Craftsman Mindset,” it made much sense. I would get so good at what I did that my skills could not be ignored, even if my passion wasn’t a ten. Armed with such an idea about getting work done, I was ready to take on the world with my new knowledge and “limited experience” after completing my masters.

I was blessed to receive a job at a top insurance company in 2015. Here I am a recent graduate earning a 60K+ salary with benefits - way more money than I had ever made in my life. I had it all. Mother, I made it! I was so excited to begin this journey. What made this opportunity so special was that I was on a work permit, and as many foreign nationals on H1B or other work visas know, this is a highly sought-after privilege. To come to the US and then have the chance to gain experience in your area of study was the icing on the cake. I was a teacher before for almost six years, and this was a bold career move for me.

Within a few months or so, I began to see what I had really signed up for. Even though I would have wanted to blame everyone for the decision I made, I was the one who had a choice. In this new job, I had to learn some new things, and that was fine. The thing that got to me was not being able to practice most of what I had studied in school. I was not too excited about that, but I was willing to go with the flow. How many of us are eager to go with the flow? I believe many, and this will continue to be the trend if we don’t do something about it. In a 2018 report by Burning Glass Technologies and Strada Institute for the Future of Work, they shared some startling findings of the impact of under-employment. One of the key takeaways from the study was that 40 percent of college graduates find themselves underemployed in their first job. It gets worse since most of them tend to stay in those jobs for long periods, and it becomes difficult for them to escape and do work they love. The report goes on to say that “Workers who were initially underemployed were five times more likely to remain so after five years than those who were not underemployed in their first job. Even at the 10-year mark, three-quarters of workers who were underemployed at year five remained underemployed.” These findings speak so much truth, to say the least. There are so many people working jobs that they don’t appreciate, and in almost every situation they are grossly underpaid. I was fortunate to get paid for my first job in the range I asked, but I did not get a pay increase for almost five years — nobody’s fault. I made a decision like most of us do.

"40 percent of college graduates find themselves underemployed in their job." 

I had bills to pay, student loan debt, the family needed my help, and it was a great opportunity that no one would want to give up. Why should I anyway? I was desperate, and I did what most desperate people do. In my mind, I can handle this. All I have to do is “just tough it out.” Learning new skills wasn’t a bad thing, anyway. I would embrace the challenge. Two years later, I was feeling stuck and confused about what I was going to do with my life. I considered several options: I could go back to school, try to find another job inside or outside the company, or even make that bold move to go back to my country. However, I had obligations to meet, and I wanted to honor those who have sacrificed on my behalf.

Being persistent and expressing my thoughts about what I wanted to do, the company offered me a new opportunity. I transitioned into the new role to start over again. However, this time around, I felt more lost. I could not figure out what I was doing anymore. I had gone so far away from what I was capable of doing. It was like walking into one trap after another. I guess this was what Bob Marley was trying to share in his hit song “Rat Race” and to paraphrase Robert T. Kiyosaki in “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” we go about our lives working for money. I found myself working for money rather than figuring out how to make money work for me based on the skills I bring to the table. Let me explain; I am not advocating for you to become an entrepreneur because not everyone needs to go into his or her own business. I am only sharing the obvious. We don’t end up doing work we love because we choose to settle in something that works for the moment. I did it many times over, and I am sure you may have done it too or are still in that situation.

By now, you might be wondering why it was so difficult for me to stay even though things looked like they were working out. It was not that the company didn’t have something to offer. The problem was that what they had to offer was not something I wanted. I struggled to figure out my approach. I had to make a decision — this is how it all went down.

Step one

Ask daring questions.

About six months into my new position, I had this awareness again that I needed to come up with a plan on how to get myself out of a job. I had gained enough clarity about what the work entailed, and that made it easier for me to start talking with my boss about what the role would look like in a couple of years. How can we streamline the process? How can we improve the process? I made it clear to my boss that we needed to look for ways to make the task more efficient. At the time, I thought to myself that it was not necessary to have someone dedicated to what I was doing. There had to be an alternative. My big idea was to find ways to automate most of what I was doing. I really thought that the work could have been way more efficient.

This was the beginning of the journey to How I Worked My Way Out of a Job.

Step Two

Find what energizes you and then carve out intentional time to participate in it.

I, like most people, are depending on the next paycheck to survive and make ends meet each month. If one paycheck did not come in that month, I had no idea how I was going to make it. I had student loans, car payment, personal loans, credit cards, and I sent money home to Jamaica to help care for my sick mother. All of this made me stay where I was in a role that I did not enjoy. I was not enjoying my work nor my life. I was beginning to lose my enthusiasm. However, there was something on the horizon that I had been working on for some time. One of the things I enjoyed doing was inspiring my family and friends. That became my intention. I would provide them with daily inspiration and motivational messages. I believe that made me see that there was more to do in the world than complaining about a job that I did not like. I found inspiration in what I shared as well. It was my way of expressing my emotions.

Step Three

Get happy where you are by learning how to grow yourself and share it.

The idea of getting happy where I was might have been one of the hardest things to do. How can I get content in an environment where I do not feel I belong? Beyond the daily inspirations, I had found a group of people who were as energized as I was. At the end of 2016, I joined the John Maxwell Team. I had found my tribe. I started learning about how to grow myself and how I can use that to influence my life. With every opportunity I got, I made sure to share how excited I was about life and why. I decided to focus on my personal growth. Not to get a job, but because I knew I deserved better and wanted something more meaningful. As time passed, I developed my way to push back on what I was feeling. I decided that my job will not define me, and it would not take away my happiness. I worked on myself, and I became truly happy. I chose to be happy, no matter what. I knew deep down that I did not want to leave a job and move on to another one without being happy where I was and with who I am.

Step Four

Know how to live your purpose.

So many of us will find ourselves moving from job to job and never find the right fit because we are faking happy. I was faking happy before I decided what would make me happy. I am sure you’ve watched those romantic movies or read a novel or two, and the characters express to each how much they make each other happy. I think that’s part of the problem: we often live in a fairytale world. We expect things to work out a certain way, and when it doesn’t, we don’t know how to respond. I was at that place because I did not know my purpose. I was trying to find my purpose in life, but that came up with a dead end. I happened to discover a little secret: I did not need to find my purpose. All I needed to do was live my purpose. It might sound easy, but it takes more intentional work than you would think. I took the time to do that, and I can show you how. I was able to recreate my life whenever I wanted because I knew who I was, what I wanted, and whom I was becoming every day. I was determined to live life the way I wanted to by doing something I love.

Step Five

Have a positive attitude and show them how good you are.

By this point, I was already fully charged with how I wanted to live my life and was no longer concerned about keeping a job. I wanted to add value. I had shifted my focus from “what can my employer do for me” to “what can I do for my employer based on what I was inspired to do in my life.” I wasn’t going to just up and leave my job. I had to have an exit strategy if it came to that. The conversations I was having were clearly making their way around, and now I was doing my best work. I got involved in activities that were of interest to me so I would remain motivated. I kept the conversation transparent and ensured that my boss understood what my interests were. I would strike up a conversation that would lead to a discussion about my goals. Then I would tie it back into how we needed to look for ways to potentially eliminate my position while looking for other opportunities in the organization. I was willing to sacrifice the job so that we could become more efficient. My boss would say, “Mervin, you look like you want to work your way out of a job.” My response was, “if that’s what it takes to make things better, my work would be complete.” I was serious about not having monotonous tasks hold us back from creating more value. My attitude was, “What’s next?” I was looking for ways to best use my gifts and talents. I wasn’t content in just staying for the paycheck. I was looking for opportunities where we could do things differently.

Step Six

Do not expect too much from your employer.

I was now making progress and seeing significant changes. My concern was about how I could best serve the organization. I was also aware that I could end up with no job if they were to eliminate my role. It was my idea that the company had to live out its vision and mission. I had to look at how my values aligned with their values. My new mantra became: “DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM YOUR EMPLOYER.” I believed that firmly the first time I got the courage to voice it, and I am more convicted today. The company seemed as if they were listening. On April 14th, 2019, they decided to give me my PROMOTED POSITION (that’s what wife called it). I received my termination letter and a severance package. The decision was made to consolidate my role and let me go. It was clear that I had accomplished my mission. Even though I did not have the opportunity to stay on with them, I got what I truly wanted – My Freedom. They also did not decide to keep me on for other opportunities because of other reasons (that’s for another story. Look out for that in my book). This chapter had ended, and the next was about to begin.

Step Seven

Do work from your areas of strength.

Now that I have my promoted position, I have been able to go out there and do what I really love. I want to serve people and get them to live their purpose. During my search for work that I love, The Chief Purpose Connector was born. I discovered this truth about leading oneself. This idea is not about independence or individualism. Neither is it merely awareness. I am talking about SELF-LEADERSHIP. It is something more refreshing. I am sure you may not be too aware of the terminology. I am bringing something new to leadership and the personal growth conversation. I want us to Think Self and Business Leadership Differently. I have defined Self-leadership as “the ability to take what you believe, know, and acknowledge to be true about yourself and express that as the means to evolve throughout your life.” Powerful, right!?

I figured it is a waste of time to go through life trying to find my purpose. My goal should be to make a decision to live my purpose every day. Every decision I made at every moment was me living my purpose. When I ask people about their purpose, they give me something that they hope to accomplish or find someday. But I have a different perspective. My purpose is not lost so that I have to go out and find it and neither is yours. Your purpose is what you choose to live every day. You and I have the opportunity to write our story. All we need to do is invest in whom we want to become. My one advice to you is this: Do not sit down in a job that does not fulfill you or your vision for the future. If you feel things need to change, it is time to figure out how to work your way up or out of your job so you can live the life you deserve.

From my journey, I have created Think Self Leadership Differently. There’s a New Person of Worth in the world today, and it’s you. You are a self-leader who believes, knows, and acknowledges who you are. I help leaders and career professionals to Think Self and Business Leadership Differently so that they can live their ultimate purpose, make work a reward, and command a life of significance. It is a transformational experience to evolve as a leader.

If what I have shared here resonates with you, I would love to get on a FREE Self-Leadership Strategy Session with you immediately! I want you and me to get together on a call and spend some time crystallizing your vision for the future, unearthing what’s really holding you back from becoming a Self-Leader, and creating an actionable plan. Click this link: Self-leadership Strategy Session It will take you to my schedule. Choose a day and time that works for you. Let’s keep this conversation going!

My name is Mervin K. Brown. - I believe that life is about making a difference with others and finding ways to add value in the world. When you succeed, I will succeed. I am The Chief Purpose Connector, and I help leaders and career professionals to think self and business leadership differently so that they can live their ultimate purpose, make work a reward, and command a life of significance.

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